* I favor the Klean Kanteen over the more popular SIGG water bottle since SIGG's aluminum bottles are lined with an undisclosed "polymer" that is tested for currently known plastic contaminants. Since chemicals are put on the market before they are tested for human safety, and an increasing number of plastic chemicals are implicated in health problems, I prefer to stick with old-fashioned stainless steel.

SIGG's web page describing its polymer strongly suggests it does not contain BPA, yet declines to say what the internal plastic liner is. (Bisphenol A is the plastic hardener that is linked with feminizing birth defects in boys, breast cancer in women, among other ill health effects.) SIGG quotes studies that reveal "no detectable BPA" in their bottle liners yet never actually states the liner is free of BPA. Tricky language, indeed! In language that strike me as untrustworthy, SIGG says:

Like Coca-Cola’s soft drink recipe, the SIGG liner formula remains secret and unavailable to third parties in order to protect our competitive advantage.

According to an article on Inhabitots, "The shocking facts came to light when, one whole year after changing their liner to a new 'EcoCare' BPA-free formula, SIGG fessed up." SIGG switched to a BPA-free liner in August 2008.

BPA or not, I don't want to drink my water out of a plastic-lined bottle. The list of unsafe plastics is only going to get longer. Will SIGG get caught with their pants down again if the current liner is found to be unsafe, too?

10 comments:

Omigod. Ry has a SIGG. So does JB and D. I also gave them to my nephew and his wife for x-mas last year. AND I BOUGHT THEM FROM WHOLE FOODS, who's supposed to be the gatekeeper on these things. I wonder if the "new" liners had been on the market by then?

Kim, well, the bottles ARE so cute that they make great gifts! Good point about the new liners - I guess to really know, you have to saw them in half and look, like the TreeHugger journalists did. The big question is if production changed over in August 2008 or if they shipped the new ones in Aug 2008. Either way, there would still have been old inventory on the shelves in various stores, so I'd say it's really a crap shoot.

Well, at least you know what to get for holiday gifts THIS YEAR! Klean Kanteen!

Art, I've been meaning to get one of those lead testing kits from the hardware store to swipe my Klean Kanteen and check for lead. For other heavy metals, I'm just going with the Environmental Working Group. I trust that watchdog group and they recommend KK. It would be great if there were a consumer-level inexpensive way to check for other heavy metals.

Check this one out - follow the trail of money and influence to see how BPA producers are using tobacco science to prove BPA is actually safe:http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/bpa-industry-fights-back.php?dcitc=daily_nl

If it looks like a rat, smells like a rat, and acts like a rat, it's usually a rat, but the trick is getting the beast to admit it's a rat! Now, if only other companies could be as forthcoming as SIGG about their gaffes. Hey, Big Pharma, care to follow suit?

You're right! I stopped using mine because I noticed that the coating on the threads at the neck was wearing away, exposing the surface underneath. I only use stainless steel now. I WAS disappointed because that bottle WAS very dang cute (pink swirlies!) and got me a lot of compliments. = )

I expected David Wolfe's Longevity Now Conference to deliver some tips for how to live better and longer. I attended the conference no...

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